#HR, Will You Take the Challenge?

We find out a lot about our employees … a lot. We give advice, we hand out solutions left and right. Our employees come to us with very real problems and they’re depending on us. We have to keep up with the paperwork. We need to answer that phone call.

One of my biggest goals is to be able to look back and know I made a difference in someone’s life, it’s one of the reasons I decided to become an HR Professional. We have the ability to make a persons day by taking a chance and hiring them. We guide our employees’ growth, helping them complete their own goals. There is so much that we do, but when they come to us, are we able to have empathy for them when they’re in need? Are we apologizing when we’re wrong? Are we doing what’s best for our employees or what’s easiest for us?

It’s not only because of everything going on in the world today but because we are human too. No one is perfect, we all have our own faults, and sometimes as an HR professional, our fault is not admitting our wrong, when everything is said and done.

HR professionals are not all the same, for this we should be thankful. It’s up to us to change the perception of who HR is and what we do. Employees don’t need (or deserve) a fake apology because we’re trying to cover our own butts. Employees don’t deserve us talking about diversity online, but never willing to discuss it going on in our company.

Step out and be the change, no matter how long you’ve been in this field. There are so many stories out about how HR didn’t speak up, how we didn’t go the extra mile, or how we turned our back on an employee when they needed us the most. Every story won’t go away, unfortunately, we can’t fix it overnight. It’s not just about papers, not about just answering those phone calls. And for the love of everything, it’s not just about discussing changes in technology. We can’t make a difference by just talking about what is going in the world. We can’t stop talking, but we also need to start doing.

My goal is to get people excited about HR, primarily the people that work in HR. It’s not just a job, it should never be thought of in this way. Our employees are counting on us, our profession is counting on us. It’s time to get loud for HR, excited for HR, passionate about HR. It takes discussing the good and the bad. We can never ignore the bad. Are you willing to step up and take the challenge?